And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church.

and you have been given full life in union with him. He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority.

For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death.

he canceled the unfavorable record of our debts with its binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross.

But I want you to understand that Christ is supreme over every man, the husband is supreme over his wife, and God is supreme over Christ.

This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.

God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things.

The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.

Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head.

Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.

In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We write to you about the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it.

"I am the first and the last," says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created.

And he said, "It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it.

I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die;

and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

that the Messiah must suffer and be the first one to rise from death, to announce the light of salvation to the Jews and to the Gentiles."

But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.

For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world. He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins

I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead.

You are the most handsome of men; you are an eloquent speaker. God has always blessed you.

Ride on in majesty to victory for the defense of truth and justice! Your strength will win you great victories!

I will make him my first-born son, the greatest of all kings.

My lover is handsome and strong; he is one in ten thousand.

The LORD says, "My servant will succeed in his task; he will be highly honored.

You must not be called 'Teacher,' because you are all equal and have only one Teacher.

Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.

He is coming after me, but I am not good enough even to untie his sandals."

The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete.

He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all.

Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.

For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet.

For God never said to any of his angels, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." Nor did God say about any angel, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son."

But when God was about to send his first-born Son into the world, he said, "All of God's angels must worship him."

They sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.

Again I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders,

And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living beings in the universe---and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The power to rule over the world belongs now to our Lord and his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever!"

The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God shines on it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The peoples of the world will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into it.